“In the desert, the line between life and death is sharp and quick.” -Zensunni Fire Poetry from Arrakis

“We learned a negative thing from computers, that the setting of guidelines belongs to humans, not to machines.” -Rell Arrkov

“Logic is blind and often knows only its own past.” -archives from Genetics to Philosophy compiled by the Sorceresses of Rossak

“Every endeavor is a game, is it not?” -Iblis Ginjo

“Dune is the planet-child of the worm.” -from The Legend of Selim Wormrider

“Humans tried to develop intelligent machines as secondary reflex systems, turning over primary decisions to mechanical servants. Gradually, though, the creators did not leave enough to do for themselves; they began to feel alienated, dehumanized and even manipulated. Eventually humans became little more than decisionless robots themselves, left without an understanding of their natural existence.” -Tlaloc

“Humans, with such fragile physical forms, are easily crushed. It is any challenge to hurt or damage them?” – Erasmus

“The tapestry of the universe is vast and complex, with infinite patterns. While threads of tragedy may form the primary weave, humanity with its undaunted optimism still manages to embroider small designs of happiness and love.” – Cogitor Kwyna

“There is a certain hubris to science, a belief that the more we develop technology and the more we learn, the better our lives will be.” – Tlaloc

“Opportunities are a tricky crop, with tiny flowers that are difficult to see and even more difficult to harvest.” – Anonymous

“Home can be anywhere, for it is a part of one’s self.” – Zensunni saying

“One of the questions the Butlerian Jihad answered with violence was whether the human body is simply a machine that a man-made machine can duplicate. The results of the war answered the question.” – Dr. Rajid Suk

“we are happiest when planning our futures, letting our optimism and imagination run unrestrained. Unfortunately, the universe does not always heed such plans.” -Abbess Livia Butler

“Everything in the universe contains flaws, ourselves included. Even God does not attempt perfection in His creations. Only mankind has such foolish arrogance.” – Cogitor Kwyna

“Only those with narrow minds fail to see that the definition of Impossible is ‘Lack of imagination and incentive.'” – Serena Butler

“Religion, time and time again, brings down empires, rotting them from within.” – Iblis Ginjo

“Each of us infuences the actions of the people we know.” – Xavier Harkonnen

“Think of war as behavior.” – General Agamemnon

“Survivors learn to adapt.” – Zufa Cenva

“Regrets, there are many, and I have my share.” – Serena Butler

“In times of war, every person claims to contribute to the effort. Some give lip service, some provide funds, but few are willing to sacrifice everything. This, I believe, is why we have been unable to defeat the thinking machines.” – Zufa Cenva

“Mathematical answers are not always expressed numerically. How does one calculate the worth of humanity, or of a single human life.” – Cogitor Kwyna

“All men are not created equal, and that is the root of social unrest.” – Tlaloc

“Mind rules the universe. We must make certain it is the Human mind, rather than the Machine version.” – Primero Faykan Butler

“I don’t believe there is such a thing as a “lost cause”- only those without suitably dedicated followers.” – Serena Butler

“There is no limit to my potential. I am capable of encompassing an entire universe.” – secret Ominus data bank

“There is a certain malevolence about the formation of social orders, a profound struggle, with despotism on one end and slavery on the other.” – Tlaloc

“There is no clear division between Gods and Men-one blends softly casual into the other.” – Iblis Ginjo

“Our appetite encompasses everything.” – Cogitor Eklo

“I fear that Norma will never amount to anything. How does that reflect on me and my own legacy to humanity?” – Zufa Cenva

“Intuition is a function by which humans see around corners. It is useful for persons who live eposed to dangerous natural conditions.” – Erasmus

“One direction is as good as another.” – saying of the Open Land

“Time depends on the position of the observer and the direction in which he looks.” – Cogitor Kwyna

“Assumptions are a transparent grid through which we view the universe, something deluding ourselves that the grid is that universe.” – Cogitor Eklo

“Conflict prolonged over an extended period tends to be self-perpetuating and can easily plunge out of control.” – Tlaloc

“In warfare there are countless factors that cannot be predicted, and which do not depend upon the quality of military command. In the heat of battle, heroes emerge, sometimes from the most unlikely sources.” – Vorian Atreides

“As if to balance the pain and suffering, War has also been the breeding ground for some of our greatest dreams and accomplishments.” – Holtzman

“Science: The creation of dilemmas by the solution of mysteries.” – Norma Cenva

“The mind imposes an arbitrary framework called “reality,” which is quite independent of what the senses report.” – Cogitors fundamental postulate

“Believing in an “intelligent” machine engenders misinformation and ignorance. Unexamined assumptions abound. Key questions are not asked. I did not realize my hubris, or my error, until it was too late for us.” – Barbarossa

“Religion, often considered a divisive force among peoples, is also capable of holding together what might otherwise fall asunder.” – Livia Butler

“Thirsty men speak of water, not of women.” – Zensunni fire poetry

“Humans are survivors. They do things for themselves and then attempt to conceal their motivations through elaborate subterfuges. Gift-giving is a prime example of behavior that is secretly selfish.” – Erasmus

“In surviving, shall our humanity endure? That which makes life, sweet for the living- warm and filled with beauty- this, too, must be. But we shall not gain this enduring humanity if we deny our whole being- if we deny emotions, thought, and flesh. If we deny emotions, we lose all touch with our universe. By denying thought, we cannot reflect upon what we touch. And if we dare deny the flesh, we unwheel the vehicle that carries us all.” – Primero Vorian Atreides

“Of all the subjects of human behavior, two are most storied: warfare and love.” – Cogitor Eklo

“Talk is based on the assumption that you can get something if you keep putting one word after another.” – Iblis Ginjo

“”Systematic” is a dangerous word, a dangerous concept. Systems originate with their human creators. Systems take over.” – Tio Holtzman

“PSYCHOLOGY: The science of inventing words for things that do not exist.” – Erasmus

“Learn from the past- don’t wear it like a yoke around your neck.” – Cogitor Reticulus

“We have our lives, but we also have priorities. Too many people fail to recognize the difference.” – Zufa Cenva

“It seems as if some perverse sorcerer set out to foul up the planet as much as possible…and then seeded with melange for a prize.” – Tuk Keddair

“”I am not evil,” said Shaitan. “Do not try to label what you do not understand.”” – Buddislamic Sutra

“Owing to the seductive nature of machines, we assume that technological advances are always improvements and always beneficial to humans.” – Primero Faykan Butler

“It’s not my problem.” – saying of Ancient Earth

“Is there an upper limit to the intelligence of machines, and a lower limit to the stupidity of humans?” – Bovko Manresa

“Humans deny a continuum of possibilities, an infinite number of reals into which their species may enter.” – Erasmus

“Above all, I am a man of honor. This is how I wish to be remembered.” – Xavier Harkonnen

“Fire has no form of its own, but clings to the burning objects. Light clings to darkness.” – Cogitor philosophy

“Science: Lost in its own mythos, redoubling its efforts when it has forgotten its aim.” – Norma Cenva

“Whatever has form-human or machine- has mortality. It is only a matter of time.” – Cogitor Eklo

“Fanaticism is always a sign of repressed doubt.” – Iblis Ginjo

“The darkness of humanity’s past threatens to eclipse the brightness of its future.” – Vorian Atreides

“Science, under the guise of benefiting humankind, is a dangerous force that often tampers with natural processes without recognizing the consequences. Under such a scenario, mass destruction is inevitable.” – Cogitor Reticulus

“Animals must have move across land to survive- for water, for food, for minerals. Existence depends upon some kind of movement: you move, or the land kills you where you stand.” – Imperial Ecological Survey of Arrakis

“Mother and child: An enduring, but ultimately mysterious image of humanity.” – Erasmus

“Patience is a weapon best wielded by one who knows his specific target.” – Iblis Ginjo

“One of the greatest problems in our universe is how to control procreation, and the energy hidden in it. You can drag humans around by this energy, making them do things they would never imagine themselves capable of. The energy0 call it love, lust, or any number of terms- must have an outlet. Bottle it up and it gets very dangerous.” – Iblis Ginjo

“Greed, anger, and ignorance poison life.” – Cogitor Eklo

“Most traditional governments divide people, setting them against each other to weaken the society and make it governable.” – Tlaloc

“Life is the sum of the forces that resist death.” – Serena Butler

“Monoliths are vulnerable. To endure, one must remain mobile, resilient, and diversified.” – Bovko Manresa

“Is a religion real if it costs nothing and carries no risk.” – Iblis Ginjo

“Humans were foolish to build their own competitors with an intelligence equivalent to their own. But they couldn’t help themselves.” – Barbarossa

“Aristotle raped reason. He implanted in the dominant schools of philosophy the attractive belief that there can be discrete separation between mind and body. This led quite naturally to corollary delusions such as the one that power can understood without applying it, or that joy is totally removable from unhappiness, that peace can exist in the total absence of war, or that life can be undestood without death.” – Erasmus

“If life is but a dream, then do we only imagine truth? No! By following our dreams we make our own truths!” – The Legend of Selim Wormrider

“There is no place in all the universe as inviting as home and the comfortable relationships there.” – Serena Butler

“Human beings rely upon their brethren, and are frequently disappointed by them. These are advantages of machines: reliability and a complete lack of guile. They can also be disadvantages.” – Erasmus

“Machines may be predictable, but we are also reliable. Conversely, humans change their beliefs and their loyalties with remarkable, and distressing, ease.” – Erasmus

“Is there any greater joy than to return home? Are any other memories so vivid, any other hopes so bright.” – Serena Butler

“The Butlerian Jihad arose from just such stupidity. An infant was killed. The bereaved mother struck out at the nonhuman machinery that had caused the senseless death. Soon, the violence was in the hands of the extended mob and become known as a jihad.” – Primero Faykan Butler

“Support thy brother, whether he be just or unjust.” – Zensunni saying

“The far-reaching demands of religion must accord with the macrocosmic requirements of the smallest community.” – Iblis Ginjo

“Without recognizing it, humankind created a weapon of mass destruction- one that only become apparent after machines took over every aspect of their lives.” – Barbarossa

“Creativity follows its own rules.” – Norma Cenva

“Quite obviously, our problems do not come from what we invent, but from how we use our sophisticated toys. The difficulties stem not from our hardware or software, but from ourselves.” – Barbarossa

“Technology should have freed mankind from the burdens of life. Instead, it created new ones.” – Tlaloc

“My definition of an army? Why, tame killers, of course!” – General Agamemnon

“The logic which is sound for a finite system is not necessarily sound for an infinite universe. Theories, like living things, do not always scale up.” – Erasmus

“Though Norma Cenva saw great revelations in the intricacies of the cosmos, sometimes she could not distinguish night from day, or one place from another. Perhaps she did not need to identify such things, because she was capable of journeying across an entire universe in her mind. Was her brain physically capable of assembling huge quantities of data and using that information to identify large-scale events and complex trends? Or was it instead some inexplicable extrasensory phenomenon that enabled her to exceed the thinking capacities of any person who had lived before her? Or of any thinking machine? Generations later, her biographers would argue over her mental powers, but Norma herself might not have resolved the debate. Realistically, she would have cared less about how her brain worked than she cared about the actual performance of her mind and the incredible results of its inquires.” – “Norman Cenva and the Spacing Guild”

“Peering back through the magnifying glass of time, men and women in the future view of personalities of the Great Revolt as larger than life. Such an impression comes not through any distortion of the glass, no from a process of embellishment that generates mythology. Instead of the heroes of the Jihad were much as they are now remembered; they rose to the occasion when humanity needed them more than ever before.” – Princess Irulan

“Do not count what you have lost. Count only what you still have.” – Zensunni Sutra of the First Order

“The coward will not fight. The fool refuses to see necessity. The scoundrel puts himself ahead of humanity. The Zenshiites are all these things.” – Primero Xavier Harkonnen

“Secrets give birth to more secrets.” – A saying of Arrakis

“Unfortunately, some wars are won by the side that is the most fanatical in a religious sense. The victorious leaders harness the holy energy of collective insanity.” – Cogitor Kwyna

“We are fools to think the battle is ever over. A defeated foe can delude us into letting down our guard…to our eternal sorrow.” – Primero Xavier Harkonnen

“There are a million ways to ask the same question, and a million ways to answer it.” – Cogitors Fundamental Postulate

“With all the artillery, ships, and manpower in the military, our commanders often forget that ideas can be the greatest weapons of all.” – Cogitor Kwyna

“Even victories take their toll on a man.” – A saying of Old Earth

“A tool wielded in ignorance can become the most dangerous of weapons.” – Swordmaster Jav Barri

“Those who refute to fight against thinking machines are traitors to the human race. Those who do not use every possible weapon are fools. ” – Zufa Cenva

“The more I study the phenomenon of human creativity, the more mysterious it seems. Their whole process of innovation is elusive, but is critical for us to understand. If we fail in this endeavor, thinking machines are doomed.” – Erasmus

“Where one person sees cause for rejoicing, another sees only reason for despair. Pray that you are the former.” – Buddislamic Sutra, Zensunni interpretation

“For all their computerized precision, thinking machines can be confused in many different ways.” – Primero Vorian Atreides

“Human beings can always improve themselves. This is one of the advantages they have over thinking machines…until I find a way to mimic all of their senses. And sensibilities.” – Erasmus

“He who strikes fastest strikes twice.” – Swordmaster Jav Barri

“Words are magic.” – Zufa Cenva

“Thoughts become weapons. Philosophies are distinct reasons for war. Good intentions are the most destructive arsenal of all.” – Cogitor Kwyna

“It is better to be envied than pitied.” – Vorian Atreides

“The army fosters technology, and technology breeds anarchy because it distributes the terrible machines of destruction. Even before this Jihad, one man alone could create and apply enough violence to ravage an entire planet. It happened! Why do we think the computer became anathema?” – Serena Butler

“There is a certain momentum to victory…and to defeat.” – Iblis Ginjo

“Good intentions can bring about as much destruction as an evil conqueror. either way, the result is the same.” – Zensunni lament

“Beware of well-meaning friends. They can be as dangerous as enemies.” – General Agamemnon

“There is a time to attack and a time to wait.” – Corrin-Omnius

“Biological life is an insidious, powerful force. Even when one thinks it has been wiped out, it has a way of concealing itself…and regenerating. When the human mind is combined wit this ultimate survival instinct, we have a formidable enemy.” – Omnius

“How interesting it would be if I could upload and share information from sentient biological life, like computers transferring data. So much investigative effort and useless conjecture would be saved, because I could spend time deep inside the minds of my subjects. In a sense that has been the goal of my human experiments all along, and to an extent I have climbed inside their collective skin, allowing me to think as they think. But humans have shallow and deep leaves of thought and of behavior, and for the most part I have only discovered the shallow. Each locked psychic door that I finally open reveals another locked door, and another, and another…each requiring a different key. Such complex, mysterious creatures, these humans. To construct one from scratch…what a supreme challenge that would be!” – Erasmus

“Through his mind and senses, the human anticipates bits and pieces of the reality to come. Despite endless calculations, thinking machines can never come close to achieving this, or even comprehending how it works.” – Titan Hectate

“War brings out the worst in human nature, and the best.” – Swordmaster Jav Barri

“Vermin breed vermin.” – Omnius

“Plans, schemes, talk…It seems we spend all our lives in discussion and virtually no time in meaningful action. We must not fail to seize our opportunities.”- General Agamemnon

“With the diversification of mankind, one might think religion would have proliferated. Not so. There are not nearly as many gods as there once were-just more ways of worship.”- Iblis Ginjo

“Arrakis: Men saw great danger there, and great opportunity.” – Princess Irulan

“Nothing is ever as it seems. With appropriate equations I can prove this.” – Norma Cenva

“Guard every breath, for it carries the warmth and moisture of your life.” – Zensunni admonition to children

“I have done grand things in my life, far beyond the aspirations of most men. But somehow I have never found a home or a true love.” – Primero Vorian Atreides

“Octa tried to make me stop believing in the destiny of love, that there was only one person for each of us. she nearly succeeded in this life, for I almost forgot about Serena.”- Primero Xavier Harkonnen

“We can study every scrap of detail about the long march of human history, assimilating vast amounts of data. Why then, is it is so difficult for thinking machines to learn from it? Consider this as well: Why do humans repeat the mistakes of their ancestors?” – Erasmus

“When you become aware of the volume of the universe around you the paucity of life in that vast space becomes an overwhelming reality. It is from this basic awareness that life learns to help life.” – Titan Hectate

“Individually and collectively, humans are driven by sexual energy. Curiously, they construct great edifices around their actions in an attempt to conceal this.” – Erasmus

“Anyone can be brought down. It is only a matter of figuring out how to do it.” – Tio Holtzman

“A man must not be a statue. A man must act.” – Buddislamic sutra, Zenshia interpretation

“Resistance to change is a survival characteristic. But in its extreme form, it is poisonous-and suicidal.” – Zensunni stricture

“Since there has been no upload linkage between me and the evermind for decades, Omnius does not know my thoughts, which might be considered disloyal. But I do not mean them to be that way. I am just curious by nature.” – Erasmus Dialogues

“How many opportunities do we miss in our lifetimes? Can we even identify all of them later, thinking back? This is a lesson too many of us do not learn until it is too late.” – Leronica Tergiet

“Pain is always more intense than pleasure…and more memorable.”- A saying of Old Earth

“Neither violence nor submission will aid our plight. We must be greater than either alternative.” – Naib Ishmael

“A thinking machine cannot be hurt, tortured, killed, bribed, or manipulated. Machines never turn on their own kind. The mechanisms are pure and clean, with exquisite internal parts and shimmering exterior surfaces. Considering such beauty and perfection, I fail to comprehend why Erasmus is so fascinated with humans.” – Corrin-Omnius

“A toast to lost friends, forgotten allies, all those we did not appreciate in their lifetime.” – Caladan drinking song

“A ship cannot proceed toward its destination with two pilots struggling for the controls. one or the other must gain the upper hand quickly, or there will be a crash.” – Iblis Ginjo

“Loyalty cannot be programed.” – Seurat

“Leadership hides behind many guises.” – Iblis Ginjo

“Human beings are the most adaptable of creatures. Even under the harshest circumstances, we invariably find ways to survive. Through our careful breeding program, there may be ways to emhance this characteristic.” – Zufa Cenva

“Life is about choices- good and bad- and their cumulative effects.” – Norma Cenva, Mathematical Philosophies

“Loose ends have a way of strangling you.” – General Agamemnon, New Memoirs

“The human mind, facing no real challenges, soon grows stagnant. Thus it is essential for the survival of mankind as a species to create difficulties, to face them, and to prevail. The Butlerian Jihad was an outgrowth of this largely unconscious process, with roots back to the original decision to allow thinking machines too much control, and the inevitable rise of the Omnius Empire.” – Princess Irulan, Lessons of the Great Revolt

“In my investigation of human culture, I have encountered non-traditional families and parents who were not genetically related to the children under their care, I never understood the full significance of such relationships until I began to work with Gilbertus Albans.” – Erasmus Dialogues

“Some miracles are only nightmares in disguise.” – Serena Butler, Echoes of the Jihad

“Opportunities may arise in an instant, or they may develop for a thousand years. We must always be prepared to seize what is ours.” – General Agamemnon, New Memoirs

“What sort of God would promise us a land like this?” – Zensunni lament

“At one time I thought cruelty were only human traits. Alas, it seems that the thinking machines have learned to imitate us.” – Vorian Atreides, Turning Points in History

“In the banquet of life, our daily activities are the main course, and dessert is composed of our dreams.” – Serena Butler, Jihad Manifestos

“Is it human to say that no one understands me? This is one of many things I have learned from them.” – Erasmus Dialogues

“It is a stark fact of human existence that relationships change. Nothing is ever completely stable, not even from hour to hour. There are always subtle variances, alterations and adjustments that must be taken into account. No two moments are ever exactly alike in any respect.” – Serena Butler, Observations

“Unreliable allies are no better than enemies. We prefer our independence, our own control.” – General Agamemnon, The New Golden Age

“I feel I can do anything- except, perhaps, live up to the expectations others have of me.” – The Legend of Selim Wormrider

“The only guarantee in life is death, and the only guarantee in death is its shocking unpredictability.” – A Saying of Old Earth

“There is a fine line between life and death. At any given moment, the human being is only a missed heartbeat or a gasping breath away from eternal darkness. the man who understands this is most willing to take great risks. If I were recruiting Jihad soldiers, I would teach this and exploit it to the maximum.” – Erasmus, uncollated laboratory files

“A legend can be an educational tool and a great danger- not only for its followers, but for the subject of the legend himself.” – Chirox, Logs of Swordmaster Trainees

“Sometimes the line between bravery and recklessness is indistinguishable.” – Zufa Cenva, Recollection of the Jihad

“The flesh may not be excused from the laws of matter, but the mind is not so fettered. Thoughts transcend the physics of the brain.” – Cogitor Vidad, Thoughts from Isolated Objectivity

“The military commander who fails to seize an opportunity is guilty of a crime equal to outright cowardice.” – General Agamemnon, New Memoirs

“In wartime we are often asked to give more than we possess.” -Serena Butler, Zimia Rallies

“What makes a great hero? Selfless action, you say. Yes, but that is only one dimension, the one seen by most people and chronicled in the history crystals. Circumstances must be right for a hero to operate; he must be swept up in an epic tide of events that enable him to ride the crest of a human wave. The hero, especially the one who survives, is an opportunist. Seeing a need, he fills it and receives a substantial benefit. Even dead heroes receive a benefit.” – Zufa Cenva, Recollections of the Jihad

“Sometimes a lover’s gift is even sweeter when he cannot be there to offer it in person.” – Leronica Tergiet

“I see visions, and I see reality. How am I to know the difference when the whole future of Arrakis is at stake?” – The Legend of Selim Wormrider

“We have waited long enough. It is time.” – Cogitor Vidad, Thoughts from Isolated Objectivity

“Valor is defined by valiant deeds, regardless of what motives in a person’s heart.” – Titan Xerxes, A Millennium of Fulfillment

“Once I thought we should end this Jihad at all costs- but some costs are simply too high.” – Serena Butler, draft proclamation, unreleased

“Heroes sometimes do their greatest works after they are dead.” – Serena Butler, Zimia Rallies

“Better that the mainspring of this religious insanity is not wound all the way up, not yet. The universe is not ready for such loud ticking.” – Cogitor Kwyna, City of Introspection Archieves

“My heart is stretched and pulled in so many ways. Why must Duty and Love tug in opposite directions?” – Primero Vorian Atreides, private logs

“Of all the weapons that we utilize in war, Time is potentially the most effective- and the least under our control. So many major events could have been changed if only there had been another day, another hour, even another minute.” – Primero Xavier Harkonnen, letter to his daughters

“I do not fear death, for I was fortunate to have been born in the first place. This life is a gift, and was never really mine at all.” – Serena Butler, last message to Xavier Harkonnen

“I control the manner in which I live my life. How history remembers me is another matter altogether.” – Aurelius Venport, private administrative testament, VenKee Enterprises

“There are countless ways to die. The worst is to fade away without purpose.” – Serena Butler, last message to Xavier Harkonnen

“In war, there are more ways to lose than there are to win.” – Iblis Ginjo, The Landscape of Humanity

“The beginning of healing is to enlist the recuperative powers of the body- whether it is the body individually and physically or its various social and political forms.” – Dr. Rajid Suk, Battlefield Notebooks

“The mind is a crazy thing.” – Graffiti outside of the Central Spire of Corrin

“We must resist the temptation to manipulate the universe.” – Cogitor Kwyna, City of Introspection Archives

“My greatest mistake was in believing that I made my own decisions. Even the most perceptive man can fail to see the puppet strings that control him.” – Primero xavier Harkonnen, private letter to Vorian Atreides

“Humankind has always sought more and more knowledge, considering it a boon to the species. But there are exceptions to this, things no person should ever learn how to do.” – Cogitor Kwyna, City of Introspection Archieves

“True creations, the sort that interests me, eventually becomes independent of its creator. Evolution and experience take the original product far from its origin, with an uncertain outcome.” – Erasmus, Reflections on Sentient Biologicals

“I do not give a damn about history. I will do what is right.” – Primero Xavier Harkonnen, letter to Vorian atreides

“Timing is essential in pulling off the element of surprise.” – Vorian Atreides, Memoirs Without Shame

“Machinery does not destroy. It creates, provided always that the controlling hand is strong enough to dominate it.” – Rivego, a muralist of Old Earth

“Greatness has its own rewards…and bears its own terrible costs.” – Primero Xavier Harkonnen, a final dictajournal entry

“A birth on this soil is the birth of a warrior.” – Swordmaster Istian Goss, to his students

“The path to victory is not always direct.” – Tlaloc, A Time for Titans

“God rewards the compassionate.” – A saying of Arrakis

“The line between life and death is sharp and quick in the desert.” – Admonition to Spice Prospectors

“The universe may change, but the desert does not. Arrakis keeps its own clock. The man who refuses to acknowledge this must face his own folly.” – The Legend of Selim Wormrider

“Since there has been no upload linkage between me and the evermind for centuries, Omnius does not know my thoughts, some of which might be considered disloyal. But I do not mean them to be that way. I am just curious by nature.” – Erasmus Dialogues

“The people welcome me as a conquering hero. I have battled cymeks and I have overthrown thinking machines. But I will not let m legacy stop there. My work is just beginning.” – Primero Quentin Butler, Memoirs on the Liberation of Parmentier

“The universe constantly challenges us with more opponents than we can handle. Why then must we always strive to create enemies of our own?” – Swordmaster Istian Goss

“Those who have everything value nothing. Those who have nothing value everything.” – Raquella Berto-Antirul, Assessments of Philosophical Revelations

“Human beings strive for respect and dignity. This a common theme in their personal interactions at all levels, from street gangs to Parliament. Religious wars have been fought over this issue, which is simple in theory but complex in practice.” – Serena Butler, comments in her last interview

“From heaven, Serena Butler watches over us. We try to measure up to her expectations, to the mission she set forth for the human race. But I fear she must be weeping to see the weak, slow progress we have made against our mortal enemies.” – Rayna Butler, True Visions

“There is a certain hubris to science, a belief that the more we learn about technology and develop it, the better our lives will be.” – Tio Holtzman, acceptance speech for Service to Poritrin Award

“Humans were foolish to build their own competitors- but they couldn’t help themselves.” – Erasmus philosophical datanotes

“If we allow ourselves to become too human, to admit the weakness of love and compassion at the time when it is most dangerous, then we create a vulnerability by which the thinking machines can destroy us utterly. Yes, human beings have hearts and souls which the demon machines do not, but we cannot allow these things to be the cause of our extinction.” – Quentin Butler, letter to his son Faykan

“I am all the graveyards that ever were, and all the lives resurrected…but so are you.” – Rayna Butler, True Visions

“Faith and determination are a warrior’s greatest weapons. But beliefs can be corrupted. Beware that these weapons are not turned against you.” – Swordmaster Istian Goss

“I have imagined it would be like to be Omnius, and the far-reaching decisions I might make in his position.” – Erasmus Dialogues

“Machines are neither more nor less than we make them.” – Raquella Berto-Anirul Essays from the Edge of Consciousness

“Science is the creation of dilemmas in the attempt to solve mysteries.” – Dr. Mohandas Suk, speech to graduating class

“The successful executive is like a poker player, either concealing his emotions or showing false ones, so that others cannot use them against him.” – Aurelius Venport, The Legacy of Business

“Some say that Harkonnen blood running through my veins disgraces me, but I do not accept the lies I have heard, the attempts to besmirch the role of my grandfather. To me the actions of Xavier Harkonnen speak of honor rather than cowardice.” – Abulurd Harkonnen, letter to Supreme Commander Vorian Atreides

“War is a violent form of business.” – Adrien Venfort, “Commercial Plan for Arrakis Spice Operations

“Fear and bravery are not as mutually exclusive as some would have us believe. As I go into danger, I feel both at once. Is it brave to overcome one’s fear, or just curiosity about the human potential?” – Gilbertus Albans, A Quantitative Analysis of Emotions

“Thinking machines never sleep.” – A Saying of the Jihad

“Technology should have freed man from the burdens of life. Instead, it imprisoned him.” – Rayna Butler, True Vision

“Technology has a seductive nature. We assume that advances in this realm are always improvements, beneficial to humans. We are deluding ourselves.” – Rayna Butler, True Visions

“The Army of the Jihad can try to prepare for the next scheme of Omnius, but we will always fall behind the thinking machines, for they can develop their evil thoughts with computer speed.” – Primero Quentin Butler, private letters for Wenda

“We are trained to fight with swords, with strength, and with blood. But when the thinking machines send an invisible enemy against us, how are we to defend ourselves or the rest of humanity?” – Swordmaster Istian Goss.

“Evolution is the handmaiden of Death.” – Naib Ishmael, paraphrase of Zensunni Sutra

“The process of thinking: Where does it being and where does it end?” – Erasmus Dialogues

“If there is no plausible hope for survival, is it better to know that you are doomed, or simply to exist in blissful ignorance until the end?” – Primero Quentin Butler, military journals

“Hope and love can bind the most distant hearts, even across an entire galaxy.” – Leronica Tergiet, private journal

“It did not occur to the humans who invented thinking machines that they would become relentless weapons turned against us. Yet that is exactly what happened. The mechanical genie is out of the bottle.” – Faykan Butler, political rally

“Let fat humans and thinking machines inhabit the comfortable worlds in this galaxy. We prefer the desolate, out-of-the-way places, for they invigorate our organic brains and make us invincible. Even when my cymeks have conquered everything, these difficult places shall be our favorite haunts.” -General Agamemnon, New Memoirs

“For all the years of this Jihad, we have known we must be prepared for any attack. In the end, though preparations are not sufficient. We must be willing to act.” – Supreme Commander Vorian Atreides, address to Jihad Council

“Are Cogitors completely neutral, as they claim? Or is “neutral” merely a euphemism for one of the greatest acts of cowardice in the history of the human race?” – Naam The Elder, First Official Historian to the Jihad

“In the emotional frenzy of war, even the most hardened warrior can shed tears over what he has to do.” – Supreme Commander Vorian Atreides, Battle Memirs

“We may die tomorrow, but we must hope today. Though it will not extend our lives, at least it will make them more meaningful.” Abulurd Harkonnen Journal of the-Last Days of Salusa Secundus

“The human imagination is infinite. Not even the most sophisticated machines can understand this.” – Norma Cenva, thoughts recorded and deciphered by Adrien Cenva

“The way of the warrior, moment by moment, is the practice of death.” – Swordmaster Istian Goss

“No two human brains are identical. this is a difficult concept for the thinking machine to grasp.” – Erasmus, Reflections on Sentient Biologicals